Her story is epic (on the scale of Coal Miner's Daughter, even.) She was born Eileen Regina Edwards on August 28, 1965. Her parents divorced when she was 2, and she changed her last name to Twain after her mother remarried. Her adoptive father had a hard time making ends meet, so as a child she was pushed into show business to supplement her family's income, waking up at midnight to perform in honky-tonks in the wee hours (when liquor couldn't be served, so minors were allowed in the bars). After high school, she moved to Toronto to work a day job and perform her music by night. She was 21 when her parents were both killed in a car accident, and she returned home to Timmins, Ontario to take care of her younger siblings.

She got a job singing and dancing in her hometown, and through hard work, talent and some connections, she got a Nashville scout to listen to a demo tape of hers. By the time she was offered a recording contract, her younger siblings were on their own, and she was free to move to Nashville to pursue her music career. She released her first album, Shania Twain, in 1993.